


With Abandon

by reassembleme



Series: All The Small Things [1]
Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, mention of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 00:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12200532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reassembleme/pseuds/reassembleme
Summary: A glimpse at a moment between Keith and Lance post-season three.





	With Abandon

_“Keith, don’t!”_

 

Keith gasps, clutching his sheets and surging forward. He’s flushed and panting. He hisses as the wound in his side loudly reminds him of its presence. Shaken, he tries to gather his bearings. He slowly recalls the fight as his breathing steadies out. _Lance. The figure darts out of virtually nowhere, dagger in hand. Before he knows it, Keith is there, pushing Lance and trying to parry. Too slow. Pain, burning through his armor. He grits his teeth and fights on. In the distance, the team is yelling and yelling and yelling. Lance’s eyes are blown wide, defending him as he joins in the yelling. The edges of his vision blur, and suddenly, he can’t hear them anymore._

 

Keith grimaces, shoving the sheets off him and swinging his legs down to the floor. He moves for the door, searching. He frowns when he finds that Lance’s room is empty. Keith stumbles through the castle, and he realizes he doesn’t actually have a plan. He presses on. He can hear Lance in his head, his words seared into his mind. _My fault, it’s my fault, it’s all my fault_. His side hums with a distant ache, one he dutifully ignores as he goes. Keith gingerly places a hand against the bandages around his torso, stubbornness setting in his brow.

 

The dimmed lights of the castle’s night cycle nearly close in on Keith, coaxing him to go back to bed. The pattering of his bare feet against the floor and his labored breathing ground him in the silence of the empty halls. Carefully, he makes his way through the castle until he finally hears a familiar humming from a break room he’s never even seen before. Lance sits on a couch to the far side of the small room, curled in on himself in a blanket stolen from his bed. His gaze lands on the view outside the window, eyes focused on nothing and everything.

 

“Lance?” He asks, voice low and cracking from disuse. Still, Lance startles, blanket dropping from his shoulders as he twists to stare at Keith. There’s a flurry of movement as Lance jumps up to examine Keith.

 

“How could you not be in bed with an injury like that? Do you know what was _on_ that blade, Keith?” Keith makes no effort to hide his eye roll as he allows Lance to lead him over to the medbay, grabbing more bandages. Lance is still rambling, even as they enter Keith’s room. Lance motions for him to sit on the bed, and Keith obliges.

 

Keith holds his breath as Lance carefully re-wraps his wound, a gentle hand pushing him back against his pillows. Lance is muttering something about needing to be less reckless but Keith can't focus. This close, Keith can see the dark circles, the ruffled hair, the frown that sits uncomfortably on Lance’s face. His hand shoots out to grasp Lance’s wrist, earning a shocked gasp from him as he stares right into those blue eyes.

 

“Lance, you know how important you are, right? Tell me you do,” Keith says. Lance’s eyes widen before his gaze flicks downward. Keith remembers now, _this_ is why he sought Lance out. Lance looks away, a chuckle forcing its way out of his throat. He turns back to Keith to smile, traces of the frown remaining.

 

“Duh, buddy, what else would you do without your cool ninja sharpshooter? Come on, you really do need to rest dude-”

 

“Lance.”

 

“I don’t know man,” Lance says, the words rushing out so quickly that Keith nearly misses them. He rubs at his neck and fights the urge to fidget under Keith’s attention. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

 

“Lance, look at me. I took that hit for you because I wanted to, because you’re just as important to the team as any of us. And- and you’re so, so important to me. You are not expendable, you hold us together. You hold _me_ together, I don’t know how I could’ve gotten through these past few months without you,” Keith says. He groans and lets go of Lance’s wrist, leaning back into the pillows. Lance is gaping at him, a light flush tinging the tops of his cheeks. Quietly, Keith adds, “I care about you Lance, that’s why I took that hit. I saw that blade coming for you and I couldn’t see anything else. I just knew I needed to stop it.”

 

Keith closes his eyes, skin tingling. He jolts when he feels the faint press of Lance’s lips on his cheek, almost willing to chalk up the sensation to his fever. “Then stop being such an idiot, Samurai.”

 

The last thing Keith sees before he drifts off is Lance at his door, a soft smile playing at his lips.


End file.
